Identity Theft

BY: DWAYNE

 

At least 500 million Yahoo users had their information stolen in 2014, the company said on Thursday — a year when half of American adults had their personal information exposed to hackers. Several more big names have been attacked since.

The Internet was built for openness and speed, not for security. As more and more services, infrastructure and personal information move online, they have all become targets for hackers, who constantly scan the Internet for potential security holes and entry points.

At government agencies, old, out-of-date systems and budget shortfalls it leaves information unprotected. Security experts say there is no way to keep hackers out of systems with traditional defenses like firewalls and antivirus software.

I was surprised by how many times my information was exposed to hackers. When I do business with a company I expect them to protect my information from everybody. I still know there is a risk to everything that is done online or through a company but my results are shocking. I’m blessed to say I never been a victim of identity theft. These big corporations need to come up with more clever ways to deter criminals from stealing people identities.

The biggest concern to me about identity theft is basically self-explanatory I don’t want to get my identity stolen. I have taken a few steps to help lower the risk of identity theft. First I use different passwords for an online account I have. Also two-factor authentication most online banking site offers this feature to help make it harder for theft to access your information. Lastly just monitor your bank account and credit report for any suspicious activity. Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or just want to state your opinion.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/29/technology/personaltech/what-parts-of-your-information-have-been-exposed-to-hackers-quiz.html?_r=1